Heavy Rope Training Routine

Working out doesn’t have to be expensive. There are plenty of routines you can do with simple equipment you might already have, or can easily and cheaply obtain. One such piece of equipment is the Heavy Rope. You don’t have to get some fancy-pants ‘special’ heavy rope–just head down to Home Depot or Lowes and get yourself some rope. If you’re new, you might want to start with 1 to 1-1/2 inch thickness. As you progress, you can get thicker (and hence heavier) ropes.

Get about fifty feet and try to get manila rope. Manila rope is tough; it’s the same rope most often used in boating. It’s also a densely woven rope, which means it’s heavy, and that means the best bang for your buck when it comes to workout return.

Now all you need is something to loop the rope around; a pole, tree, or even a person. Loop it around so that you end up with two 25-foot lengths. The idea then is to create waves in the rope by swinging your arms up and down in an alternating motion (left ram up, right arm down, etc.). Sounds easy, huh? Wait until you’ve been doing it for about 20 seconds. The constant motion of rope doesn’t allow for any rest, and it won’t be long before you’re weeping like a newborn. Your hands and forearms will be burning all through they’ve been dipped in sulfuric acid. You will love it. It becomes a test of will–you versus the rope, and the rope will win every time.

Once you’ve masterd the up and down, you can vary the motion. Try swinging up and down with both arms at the same time, or use a big looping motion (around the world), or going from left to right to make a sideways wave (particularly hard). Heavy ropes are very good because the incident of injury is non-existant because the rope really isn’t that heavy and the movements you use are totally natural.

To get the most out of your workout, focus on maintaining the wave no matter what. Aim for peak intensity. When start out, got for 3 sets of 30 seconds each. As you get stronger and your conditioning improves, start bumping up the time.

Aim to workout for 3 days a week.

Here’s a sample heavy rope training routine on incrementing time guaranteed to whip you into shape:

Mon

30 seconds alternating

30 Seconds both arms up and down

30 seconds big loop

Wed

45 seconds alternating

30 Seconds both arms up and down

30 seconds big loop

Fri

45 seconds alternating

45 Seconds both arms up and down

30 seconds big loop

Mon

45 seconds alternating

45 Seconds both arms up and down

45 seconds big loop

Take 1 minute of rest in between sets. See how I bumped up the duration of each set by 15 seconds for each new workout? Keep doing that until you reach 3 minutes for each set. Match this routine up with a good diet and a bit of resistance training, and you’ll be a hard body in no time!